Casaroro Falls, Valencia, Dumaguete, Philippines Backpacking with a Book is created with traveling as a creative process in mind. I travel to attempt to write. Although it is a constant struggle with words, traveling makes it bearable. I travel to know and understand not only the place but also the self within the place .

It’s easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better at the top. —Arnold Bennet Why is there an urge to reach the peak? Perhaps because the higher we ascend, the more rewarding the view is: whether it is a sleepy cityscape, a sea of clouds, a cascading river, a boisterous falls, or an achingly beautiful sunset. It becomes a recurring realization that there is no shortcut to happiness. Its pursuit necessitates will: the will to continue, the will to move on, the will to reach the destination, the will to learn. And how […]